Tag Archives: indian festival recipe

Black rice is also known as forbidden rice or emperor’s rice. Since it was only consumed by emperor’s, it is known as forbidden or emperor’s rice. Black rice is black in color, but becomes dark purple when cooked. It is a rare and old variety of rice that has been growing for centuries, in North East and South India which is commonly known as Kavuni Arisi in Tamil Nadu.

It has nutty taste and little chewy like brown rice even after cooked. Since it consumes time to get cooked, it’s soaked overnight or for 12 hours before cooked. It’s sticky and juicy nature suits it best for the making of desserts and sweets.

Black rice Pongal is very delicious and also healthier with little chewy and sticky nature it fits the concept of sweet Pongal very well. Black rice Pongal is also known as Kavuni Arisi Pongal or Karuppu Arisi pongal in tamil. Give a try and share your feedback…

Ingredients:

Black rice / Kavuni Arisi (கவுனி அரிசி)– 1 cup

Crushed Sugarcane Jaggery / Vellam (அச்சு வெல்லம்) – ½ cup

Cardamom powder (ஏலக்காய் பொடி)– ½ tsp

Cashew nuts(முந்திரி) – 10 nos

Raisins (உலர்ந்த திராட்சை)– 8 nos

Ghee / Clarified butter (நெய்)– 2 tbsp

Grated coconut (துருவிய தேங்காய்)– ¼ cup

Making of Black Rice Pongal / கவுனி அரிசி பொங்கல் –

Preparation:

Soak black rice or kavuni arisi over night or for 12 hours, drain the water and keep it aside.

Pressure-cook for 4 to 5 whistles or cook until it becomes soft and tender when you are cooking in a heavy bottom vessel.

Once it’s coked completely make sure water is completely dried, then add the crushed jaggery and grated coconut.

Cook in medium flame until the jaggery melts gets mixed well with the rice.

Add in the cardamom powder followed by a tbsp. of ghee/clarified butter.

Roast cashew nuts and raisins in the ghee / clarified butter and pour it to the Pongal, mix it well.

Custard Powder Halwa is my recent try for this Diwali 2017, it is very simple, quick to prepare also it tastes delicious. Also, custard powder halwa needs just 4 ingredients to be prepared and also these are commonly available in all out kitchen, so no any fancy ingredient used here. Moreover, the quantity of ghee/clarified butter used is very little compared to other Halwa.

Serve it. Store it in an air-tight container, so that it stays fresh for a week time. Also, slightly heat, before serving.

Note: This Halwa is prepared in 20 mins, but the important thing in this Halwa, since we custard powder thickens earlier, it’s a must to prepare this Halwa in low flame. Preparing low flame helps custard powder to get cooked completely and then thicken, else it would taste raw. Also, it doesn’t mean the once the halwa is thickened it is done, make sure that it doesn’t stick to the ladle and has a glassy appearance.

Sheera is a Marathi word for Halwa. Sheera is a must to have dish during festivals in North India. It is a rich dessert that is prepared by cooking sooji and banana along with toasted nuts and ghee / clarified butter. Banana sheera can be prepared by using both milk or water.

Banana Sheera Recipe / Rava Sheera Recipe / Sooji Halwa with Banana

I have infused coconut palm sugar instead of sugar, which gives more flavor and being a best natural sweetener. I have used Coconut Palm Sugar (mingles with A Quartet of Brown spices) from sprig, CLICK HERE for the product. Coconut Palm Sugar from sprig gives good flavor with beautiful color to the dish and delicious taste.

Banana Sheera Recipe / Rava Sheera Recipe / Sooji Halwa with Banana

Also, I have infused more banana for the perfect halwa texture and taste of banana. You can use variant of banana, but use only the ripen once. Let me share the recipe…